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Claire HannaMP
Official portrait, 2019
Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 October 2024
Preceded by	Colum Eastwood
Member of Parliament for Belfast South and Mid DownBelfast South (2019–2024)
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 December 2019
Preceded by	Emma Little-Pengelly
Majority	12,506 (28.8%)
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast South
In office 29 June 2015 – 12 December 2019
Preceded by	Alasdair McDonnell
Succeeded by	Matthew O'Toole
Member of Belfast City Council
In office 5 May 2011 – 29 June 2015
Preceded by	Carmel Hanna
Succeeded by	Donal Lyons
Constituency	Balmoral
Personal details
Born	(1980-06-19) 19 June 1980 (age 44) Galway, Republic of Ireland
Political party	SDLP (2008 – February 2019; November 2019 – present)
Spouse	Donal Lyons ​(m. 2011)​
Children	3
Parent	Carmel Hanna (mother)
Alma mater	Open University Queen's University Belfast

Claire Aisling Hanna (born 19 June 1980) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) since 5 October 2024 following her successful candidacy in the 2024 leadership election. She has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast South and Mid Down (formerly Belfast South) since 2019. Hanna previously served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South from 2015 until her election to Westminster in 2019.

Early life and education

Claire Aisling Hanna was born on 19 June 1980 in Galway, Ireland, to parents Carmel Hanna and Eamon Hanna, with two sisters and a brother. Eamon Hanna is a former general secretary of the SDLP.

Hanna has lived in south Belfast since the age of three. She attended St Bride's Primary and Rathmore Grammar School, both in Belfast. Hanna holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) honours degree in International Relations from the Open University and a master's degree in law (LLM) from Queen's University Belfast. In the 1998 Assembly election, her mother Carmel became a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for the SDLP, representing Belfast South until 2010.

Hanna's professional background is in international development, latterly in a policy and education role, and included work in Bangladesh, Haiti and Zambia. She was a campaigns officer for Concern Worldwide from 2005 to 2015.

Political career

Belfast City Council

Hanna was elected to Belfast City Council in 2011, representing the Balmoral ward, winning re-election in 2014. She remained in this role until becoming an MLA in June 2015.

She successfully brought forward a motion to make Belfast City Council the first Living Wage local authority on the island, as well as securing all-party support for her proposal to award the Freedom of Belfast to poet Michael Longley. She initiated a campaign to name the new Greenway bridge after playwright and trade unionist Sam Thompson.

She was replaced by her husband Donal Lyons on Belfast City Council.

Northern Ireland Assembly

Hanna was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in June 2015, representing Belfast South, the same constituency in which her mother had previously been elected. She served as vice chair of the Finance Committee, as well as on the Public Accounts Committee and the Environment Committees and chaired the Assembly All Party Groups on International Development and the Arts. Hanna's private member's bill on breastfeeding fell when the Assembly collapsed in early 2017.

Hanna was the first member of the SDLP to express concern about the decision of SDLP Newry councillors to vote to name a play park after IRA hunger striker Raymond McCreesh. During the same period, Hanna was chair of the East Belfast Policing Board and Community Partnership. Her home was attacked in the midst of flag protests in the area.

In February 2019, Hanna resigned the SDLP party whip in protest after the party agreed to form an electoral alliance with Fianna Fáil, stating that she would "never become a Fianna Fáil MLA". Hanna had herself been more closely associated with the Irish Labour Party and Fine Gael, and had canvassed in support of them in the past.

House of Commons

At the 2019 general election, she became the MP for Belfast South, capturing the seat from the incumbent, Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP. However, Hanna caused controversy when she affirmed allegiance to the Queen, and then lodged a "respectful protest" against her pledge the following day.

In December 2024, Hanna paid tribute to the former President of the United States Jimmy Carter following his death stating that he was the "First U.S. President to seriously engage with NI issues."

Personal life

She married Belfast SDLP councillor Donal Lyons in 2011; the couple have three daughters. Hanna lists her recreations as "theatre, reading, running, listening to music, art". She has spoken of the importance of the arts as "facilitating human connection and our understanding of ourselves" and how, in Northern Ireland, the arts and arts venues are important shared spaces.

References

1. "Claire Hanna: SDLP leadership contest has no other candidates". BBC News. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
2. "No. 8218". The Belfast Gazette. 23 December 2019. p. 1002.
3. ^ "Hanna, Claire". Who's Who. A & C Black. 2023. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U284954. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
4. ^ "Hanna, Carmel". Who's Who. A & C Black. 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U18925. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
5. Gordon, Gareth (1 September 2024). "Claire Hanna seeks to become SDLP leader". BBC News. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
6. "Claire Hanna MLA – SDLP". Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
7. "Michael Longley: Poet honoured with Freedom of Belfast". BBC News. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
8. "Sam bridges the gap in east Belfast as public tweets its approval". Belfasttelegraph. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
9. McAdam, Noel (19 August 2015). "SDLP's Claire Hanna: Why I didn't mention my replacement on council was my husband". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
10. "The Northern Ireland Assembly". Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
11. "Unionist backing for SDLP councillor". M.newsletter.co.uk. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
12. "SDLP councillor Claire Hanna's home attacked". BBC News. 6 January 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
13. "I'd never be a Fianna Fáil MLA says Hanna". BBC News. 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
14. "SDLP's Claire Hanna canvasses for Fine Gael and Labour in Irish election". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 4 February 2020. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
15. "SDLP's Claire Hanna lodges 'respectful protest' over pledge to Queen in Commons". Belfast Telegraph. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
16. "Claire Hanna pays tribute to Jimmy Carter: 'First US President to seriously engage with NI issues'". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 29 December 2024. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
17. "About Claire". Claire Hanna. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.

External links

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• "Claire Hanna MLA – SDLP". Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.

• 1980 births
• Living people
• 21st-century women politicians from Northern Ireland
• Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
• Alumni of the Open University
• Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
• Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Northern Irish constituencies
• Leaders of the Social Democratic and Labour Party
• Members of Belfast City Council
• Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (since 1922)
• Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (since 1922)
• Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016
• Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017
• Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022
• Politicians from Galway (city)
• Politicians from Belfast
• Social Democratic and Labour Party councillors
• Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs
• Social Democratic and Labour Party MPs (UK)
• UK MPs 2019–2024
• UK MPs 2024–present
• Women councillors in Northern Ireland